The Question wihout an Answer
by LJLL
Summary: I would never admit it, but the day Sasuke left he took more than his backpack. He took my heart, and he still hasn’t given it back.
1. Thank you for what?

Though I am totally caught up with the series, one question still bites at the back of my mind, and thus this fic was born.

Told from Sakura's POV, First Person

The Question without an Answer

By: Ikamaru

Today was the day. He was coming back. Naruto and I had finally succeeded on what was seemingly dubbed as "The Life-Long Mission". At one point, I started to think we would have to bring him back when he wasn't breathing. That didn't happen, though. The weird thing is, at times, I'm not sure whether I'm grateful for that or not.

I had been planning the day for so long in my head. First off, I thought I should throw my self at him, just to see his reaction. It seems I've picked up that habit from Temari-san. You should see some of the things she does to make her boy friend crazy. It makes me feel bad for Shikamaru-san. Anyway, then I thought I should just ignore him; it's what he deserves, anyway. But now, as we're walking to get him, to see him for the first time in half a decade, I have a question for him.

An important question.

We're walking in a bit of a procession, it seems, Naruto and myself are in the front, Kakashi-sensei and Sai flanking us on either side. They're behind us a bit, and silently I wonder why. It's not as if we're going to attack him senseless. Well, at least I know I won't. I can't speak for Naruto, though. Frankly, I wouldn't blame him if he did.

We've gotten closer in the time he's been gone, he's like my big brother, my shoulder to cry on. I don't know what I would've done with out him. I love him. But only as my brother, and he accepts that. I feel bad for him, though. No matter how often he denies it, I know he's waiting for me, but I can't ever be with him, not the way he wants.

I would never admit it, but the day Sasuke left he took more than his backpack. He took my heart, and he still hasn't given it back.

We're here, now, and I notice Naruto's breathing has hitched beside me. I can't say I blame him. I reach my hand over to his and a give it a gentle squeeze, then I smile at him. He smiles back, but I can see the hurt in his eyes. I can sympathize, personally. This day has been in both or nightmares and our dreams.

Two faceless ANBU are holding him; his katana, I notice, is at least three yards to the side. There are chakra strings binding his arms and legs, he can't move. We attempted to find a way to restrict his Sharingan, and with help from the Hyugga Clan, we've managed to limit its powers.

It won't be enough, though. I know it won't.

He's limp in their strong arms, and yet he has the most arrogant, malicious smirk I have ever seen in my life. It makes me sick. It shames me that I gave him my heart. He knows it, too. He feeds off of it, when he has no more chakra_ that_ gives him energy. I hate him for it.

But I know I don't mean it. I know I can't hate him. Not really.

"Dobe." He acknowledges with a wave, clearly spotting the beginnings of Kyubbi chakra leaking through. We both know him too well for his own good.

He makes a point of ignoring me, I see. Not that I particularly mind; I'm happy to be left to my thoughts.

He surprised I'm not fawning over him, and though he expertly masks it, I can see it as plain as day.

I turn, my back to him, and we begin our journey to Hokage-sama's office. I can feel his burning gaze, and instantly I know he's eyeing our intertwined fingers. Is that _jealousy_ I feel? I smirk, and let go of Naruto's hand. We share a look, and I know he understands. I have a plan, and he's happy to aid in it.

Operation Show-Sasuke-What-He's-Been-Missing is a-go.

With a smirk of his own to match, he puts an arm I around my shoulder, I walk closer to him as a result. We talked about it with Kakashi-sensei before we came, and he approves. "It'll only add to his torture." He said. I don't think any of us mind.

We're arriving at the tower, now, and I can see the frown lines on Shishou's face. They're so deep that even her jutsu can't hide them. She's getting older, as is Jiraiya-san. The wrinkles make me angry. It's not that she's getting old, everything must, and I'll probably cry when they pass, but the thing that enflames my heart in fury is that I know Sasuke has caused them. It's his fault they're older than they should be.

He stumbles in his step, and the ANBU roughly make him stand at attention.

"Old hag." He greets, that dammed smirk that I hate so much still there.

My master says nothing; instead she speaks, staring him down the entire time.

"Uchiha Sasuke. You have betrayed the village of Konoha countless times. You have attacked four of our best shinobi," she's referring to us here, that time we met him in Orochi-bastard's lair. "You've nearly killed three of them. You've launched an attack with team "Hawk" meant to destroy Konoha." Suddenly, she loses her cool, and her grip on the wooden desk tightens. I know that before this is over she will need a new desk. "What do you have to say for yourself?!"

Oddly enough, that bastard's head is hung, and his black tresses are framing his face. He looks up after a time, and initiates the staring contest once more.

"Uchiha Itachi is dead." He tells her, a strange hollow-like quality in his voice. "Orochimaru is dead. I killed them both."

She still hasn't been able to calm herself; I imagine it's difficult for her. "And you think that makes it all better?!" She demands, and suddenly her desk breaks. Exasperated, she puts a hand to her forehead and sighs heavily. She waves him away, down to the dungeons where he will stay until she can decide what horrible fate to bestow him. Whatever it is, I know it will be too good.

Naruto and I move to leave, but she beckons us back.

"Naruto?" She asks seriously, brows knit together in fierce concentration.

"I want to rip out his liver and hang it on the flag pole." He replies honestly, his fists at his side clenching.

"Sakura?" She asks, and immediately I notice her voice has lost some of its stone. She thinks I'm weaker than Naruto. That I'm more affected. I clench my teeth.

"I'm fine." I manage to rasp out. Kakashi-sensei moves forward and places a hand on my shoulder. I calm instantly. He's the father I've never had. I want to say more, so much more, but I stop myself. She excuses us, and we all bow before leaving.

Together, we three, the only _true_ members of Team Seven, go to Ichiraku's. Can you guess whose idea that was?

We eat ramen and talk quietly amongst ourselves. (Some eat more than others.) I finish last, it's hard to eat. They're a staring at me with concerned eyes, the eyes of family, and I can't take it.

"I'm going." I say suddenly, and I know they both know what I mean. We're the only ones in the shop now, and politely, Oto-san and Ayame have taken to themselves in the back.

Kakashi opens his arms and I run to them. I hug him tightly and he returns it. I need fatherly love right now. It's not complicated. Very soon, Naruto joins us and I feel safe, safe from the world. Kakashi is his father, too, and I'm his sister. We're a family. After a time, we break the hug and leave, paying for our own meals.

"I'm coming with you." Naruto says, his never-ending confidence shining through. I simply smile, and nod my head. We bid Kakashi-sensei farewell. Even though Naruto and I both are now chuunin, I can't bring myself to stop calling him that.

Sooner than I would've liked, we're at the cells. We're let through immediately; they know we won't do anything. Silently I wonder if they should be so sure. We're holding hands again, and it gives me some comfort. There must be fifty cells down here, but only one of them is occupied. Smartly, I notice, his cell is all the way in the back. Less chance of escape, I assume.

He looks surprised that we're here, like he suspected the grim reaper. In retrospect, I muse, maybe he did. Naruto gets the message and stands a few cells down, watching us with eagle eyes. That makes me smile. I love him like a brother.

We locks eyes in an instant, and thankfully I notice he doesn't have his Sharingan activated. He probably doesn't have enough chakra for that anymore.

I take a deep breath, never breaking the eye contact. I can feel the question slipping off my tongue.

"Thank you for what?"

He stares at me as if he doesn't know who I am. Maybe he forgot.

"On the day you left," I clarify, as I begin to feel my temper slip, "you told me thank you. Thank you for what?"

He doesn't respond. Frustrated, I walk out of there, determined not to let him see me flustered. I'm amazed I lasted as long I did. We made it out of there, past Ichiraku's, to my apartment, and in the door before I cracked. Naruto seemed to know it was coming, he had his embrace ready.

He hugs me tightly, and I return it with the same closeness. I can feel it. We're both trying not to cry. We last about a minute after that. Together, we cried in the darkness of our apartment. We're living together, yes. Once he brought me to his home, I was appalled; I nagged him until he came with me.

Soon, I can feel myself falling asleep in his arms; after all, they've been my source of comfort for how many years now? Soon, I'm asleep. He picks me up, one arm under my knees and the other under my back, and he takes me to my room, holding me close to his chest. Even though I'm unconscious, I know he's attempting to shield me from the world.

He lays me down in my bed after pulling the covers back, and then he puts the sheet on me. It's light pink, and he thinks it fitting. Sleepily, I'm thankful he knows I only use the sheet. Though my eyes are closed, I'm awake. I can't fall asleep until I hear his snoring.

Soon enough, I hear it. With a smile on my face, I melt into the pillow and let dreamland engulf me.

Should I continue? Was it bad? Good? Pointless?

I would like to point out now, incase I didn't make it clear, Naruto and Sakura are nothing more than friends! They love each other like siblings. And the bit with Kakashi, he's their father-figure.

This story is SasuxSaku, and though their wasn't much in the first chapter, with your reviews, I'm hoping to change that.

Remember the law of Hay. ;3

-Ika


	2. A Place Where He Can Learn to be Human

The next day, my morning passed by rather uneventfully, I am sad to report. I had really hoped something would happen. Something exhilarating, some exciting – hell, I would've taken it if my neighbor went into cardiac arrest. Sadly, after thinking said thought and feeling absolutely no remorse for all of two seconds, my dammed conscience has left mee drained before the clock struck eleven. (Yes Eleven is the afternoon, not the morning.)

Little did I know what my so-called "best friends" had in store for me.

Being my lazy, laid-back self that only emerged on Saturday when I didn't have to work or do anything of mild importance; I hadn't bothered to change out of my pajamas. Which – you guessed it – are totally untraditional. Rather, it's not so much that they're _untraditional_, per say, so much as they're _boyish._ And, as I was told upon Ino's, Temari's, Tenten's, and Hinata's arrival, even if I was told indirectly, it wasn't in a good way.

"_Sakura?! _They had a funky, unicen thing going on.

"_WHAT __**are**__ you wearing?"_ Though the entirety of Ino's sentence had an edge to it, she felt a particular need to emphasis "what" and "are". Why I'll never know.

"Sakura, sweetie, I've been called a guy. But even _I_ don't own clothes _that_ baggy." Dimly, I was rather amazed at how Tenten managed not to yell.

Temari didn't fare quite as well - though she did have a certain newfound pizzazz in her retort. And I hadn't even said anything to them yet. "Excuse me, Naruto, have you seen Sakura around? By the way, when did you dye your hair? Pink isn't really your color."

"Sakura, you like look K-Kiba-kun in that."

Hinata, poor, innocent, sweet Hinata, how could you? I liked Kiba well enough, but still.

I groaned. "Guys, it's too early in the morning for this. Naruto's still asleep-"

"_Naruto's_ here? He **slept over**?" There was that dammed funky unicen thing again I was beginning to hate.

"Shit." I grumbled to myself. I hadn't told anyone yet.

They looked at me expectantly, even little Hinata. I knew she was over her crush on Naruto, but I couldn't help but wonder how I would feel if Sasuke slept over at Hinata's house – much less if he lived there.

'_DAMMIT! I DO NOT like him anymore!'_

I could just _feel _my inner self roll her eyes at me.

Then, it hit me, like a thousand exploding kunai tags, I'd never accused myself of still liking him to being with.

If I didn't have guests, I would've hit myself upside the head. But that was just being a bad hostess.

Sighing heavily in a remarkably similar imitation of Shikamaru – I blame Temari – I gave in. I opened my mouth to retort, which would have been a rather scathing one, and, now that I think about it, probably not the smartest move in this situation. So, on that note, I chose a different tactic.

"Have you _seen_ his house? It's filthy! I couldn't let him live there." They all glowered at me, _some's _gazes more intense than _other's_, but I'm sure you can guess who those two were, and I sighed once again. Long ago, they'd let themselves in, but hadn't bothered to shut the door. I suddenly found myself irritated with them for wasting my electricity. I pushed down the irritability, gesturing weakly to the couch.

"No comment? Not even from you, Ino?"

Silence, eerie silence, like the kind you hear after your best friend Tom has just made a perverted remark about Kate, _again, _and everyone refuses to talk to him. Then again, in that group of friends, there always has to be one Jenny. Jenny is the first to forgive Tom and stop being mad at him. Surprisingly, that Jenny was Temari.

"How'd it go?"

I bit my tongue. "How did what go?"

She gave me a look. Damn her and her compelling looks. I sighed. "He didn't speak."

There were various grumblings and a few scoffs.

"_ANYWAY," _Tenten said loudly, a little _too_ loudly, "That's not why we came here."

"So why _did_ you come here?" I asked dryly.

This time it was Ino how spoke. She rolled her eyes, tone suggesting that it was the most obvious thing in the history of obviousness. "Girl talk, of course."

I groaned. I should've known.

Tenten opened her mouth, apparently to begin, as she'd pulled out the straws, we always drew straws – shortest talked first, when Naruto's voice rang out into the room from the top floor.

"Sakura-chan, are you up?" Conveniently, Naruto hadn't bothered to wait for my answer to come _a'palunking_ down the stairs. He was rubbing his right eye with his right hand, yawning widely. I couldn't help but smile at him in a sisterly sort of way.

He blinked, opening his bright blue eyes at my friends. "Hey, ladies." He tried cautiously, apparently thinking he'd done something wrong.

Now that I think about it, maybe he did.

They greeted him with distracted hellos.

He suddenly looked so out of place. "Sakura-chan, are you okay-?"

The cut him off, more specifically: Temari cut him off. She waved a hand carelessly. "She's _fine,_ Naruto. Hey, I heard Ichiraku's is having a sale today, buy ten bowls of ramen, get the eleventh free."

"Oh, yeah, I heard that, too." Tenten chided in, not missing a beat.

As you can infer, Naruto's eyes widened. He raced up to his room, threw on his ninja suit, and raced back down the steps before anyone could blink.

Sakura couldn't help but shake her head at her brother's antics. "Damn Kyubbi chakra.."

Her friends ignored her.

"Sakura, pay attention!" Ino whined, pouting slightly.

"Sorry, sorry. Tenten, got the straws?" I smirked, they all grinned at me.

Tenten whipped them out of nowhere. We all drew straws. Hinata was first.

"So Hinata, how's Kiba?"

She blushed. "He's fine."

I smiled at her; I love Hinata, she's like my sister. They all are. But I'm especially proud of Hinata right now; she's working so hard to get over her studder. She can talk more fluently when she speaks softly, so we all listen well.

Temari rolled her eyes, holding back.

Tenten snorted, also holding back.

Ino, though she probably wasn't trying, was the first to break. "_Come_ ON,_ girl, details!"_

I, however, am a saint and will not bore you with further detail unless it is _absolutely necessary_.

Kiba is her absolute _Guardian Angel_! He is so sweet. He's really helping her with her speech, too. She's getting really good at it. Hinata isn't convinced of it, though secretly I think she's hoping for it, but we're _all_ convinced that he's going to ask her to marry him soon.

Chouji has lost weight. Oddly enough, he has some kind of rare jutsu ability within the Akimichi Clan to retain his ball shape when he goes into battle, but when his jutsu ends, he has a _six pack!_ And that's not the only reason Ino is in to him, either. I'll never forget the line she told us when he first confessed:

"_Why can't you see what's right in front of you face?"_

They do say love makes one blind. Ino is no exception.

As odd as it is, though Neji and Tenten are roughly one year older than we are, they got together the latest. Apparently it has something to do with how Neji was convincing his uncle not to get him an arranged marriage. And, of course, he couldn't have been dating Tenten then because his uncle would give him, according to Neji, _that look _and his efforts would falter. Besides, we have a kind of secret unspoken agreement between us.

Neji didn't tell Tenten sooner because he would be more appeased with their relationship. But the drive to feel what his lips felt like against hers, and what if felt like to hold her in his arms tightly, breathing in her _Tentenness,_ was what drove him onward.

Shikamaru and Temari are apparently getting _very _serious. Believe it or not, Shikamaru proposed. Temari actually _squealed._ Apparently he decided to ask where he'd first admitted his feelings to her – under the stars in his favorite cloud watching spot. I guess they were having a rather heated debate about whether the clouds of stars were better. I'm sure it's easy to infer who was on which side. For those of you who are rather slow, I'll elaborate – Temari was in favor of stars and Shikamaru of clouds.

She didn't fill us in on all the details – frankly, I don't think I _want_ to hear them all – but apparently thing got more heated, but in a different way. You know what I mean. Then, snuggled together in the grass, the classic "snuggle pose" – the guy's arm around the girls waist, her head on his chest – he turned the conversation in the direction of fate. Shikamaru, fate. I thought that was Neji's department for the longest time. Anyway, it started with "Temari, do you believe in fate?" And ended with "I love you, Temari." What happened in between there, the rest of us will never know. His "Will you marry me?" diao-speech was, I'm told, in the same fashion.

My turn. Fuck. I'll just skip the boring details – FINE.

"Well, Sakura, what's happening?"

"Nothing." I answered honestly.

"Nothing what so ever?" Tenten questioned warily.

Ino scoffed, her nose in the air, clearly she didn't believe me.

Temari snorted, a smirk on her face, she even went so far as to roll her eyes at me.

Even Hinata looked as though she knew I was lying.

I groaned. "Nothing, really!" Apparently I must've sounded convincing this time, because they all grumbled their protests, _insisting_ that _something_ was happening in my nonexistent love life, when Tenten jumped, letting out a little uncharacteristic squeak.

"_Eep!_" It was quiet. And for that I am thankful. Me no likey loud noises - loud noises _are_ _not my friend._

"I nearly forgot! I'm supposed to meet Neji at the Hyugga mansion for a formal dinner party." The lightest dusting of pink flashed across her cheeks, "He's introducing me to the Head of the Family."

Hinata beamed, clearly she was expectant of such an event.

Ino cooed. "Sounds serious." She teased, winking.

I smiled at her, shooing her off. She and Hinata got up, off to get ready – apparently you hadn't dressed _formally_ until you'd been to _Hyugga formal event_ – and walked over to the door. I waved, wishing them good bye.

"Bye Sakura, bye Ino!"

"Later, girls."

Tenten opened the door, her eyes closed, still saying good bye, and took a step forward, when she nearly collided with Sasuke. Instantaneously, Tenten had her kunai out and poised at his neck.

I whistled from my place at the other end of the room. She had damn good reflexes.

She stopped, twisting, so as not to lose her footing, and looked into the face of her "attacker". Grinning sheepishly to both of his guards, both very advanced Jonin, both of whom were smirking appreciatively at her, she apologized. "Sorry, fellas."

They waved off her apology. "Don't worry about it, Tenten. Keep your skills sharp." The brunette replied, his hair messy.

The one to his left, a black-haired fellow, was a little more friendly. "Off to the Hyugga formal dinner party, Tenten?"

She blushed only slightly, opening her mouth to ask how they knew about that when,

"Word's around the village." They stated together.

Tenten couldn't help but smile, and, with a polite,tiny bow to each of them, and a tender, fatherly push on the back from each of them to her, she was on her way - Hinata at her heels.

Ino and I were shocked, needless to say, to find Sasuke Uchiha voluntarily coming to our – and by "our" I mean Naruto's and mine - apartment.

"Sasuke..?" I ventured as way of greeting, unwilling to give him a proper one.

Ino seemed unwilling to even acknowledge him, and, instead, she turned to me, a flirty smile on her face. "I'm gonna go find Chouji, you okay here by yourself-" she took this opportunity to lower her voice, though I was positive she knew full well it was in vain for Sasuke could still hear her, "_with him_?"

I giggled softly, giving her a soft push. "Go on, be with your man."

She seemed a little unsure at first, but then nodded, smiling. She flipped her hair as she passed Sasuke, nose in the air.

His guards snickered.

"Kotetsu-san, Izumo-san." She greeted them each with a slight bow.

"Sakura-san." They said in unicen, both smiling fondly at me.

"Not to be rude,"

"By all means," Kotetsu, the black-haired, urged

She nodded. "Why are you here?"

The brown-haired, Izumo, smirked. "You'll have to ask him that." He didn't bother to indicate just who he was referring to, as if it was obvious. Which, indeed, it was, but that's beside the point.

She turned her gaze to Sasuke, expectant.

Silence.

More silence.

Awkward silence.

She huffed. "Why are you here, Uchiha-san?"

He flinched.

She raised an eyebrow.

The two Jonin snickered behind their hands.

"I have something to tell you."

More silence.

More silence.

And yet more silence.

Izumo thumped Sasuke on the back of his head.

Sasuke whirled around to glare at him. He smiled sheepishly, shrugging in the same manner.

"I had to check to make sure you will still breathing."

Seething, Sasuke turned to her once more.

"I need a place to stay."

"A place with high security," Kotetsu chimed in, grinning.

Izumo had on an identical grin, "A place where we know he won't get intro trouble."

Then, in unicen, the grin long faded, "A place where he can learn to be human again."

**Yes, I know, I'm overdue about a month. I have no excuse except for that I thought this story was NaruSaku, and then, earlier this evening, I was looking over my stories and found that my summary said SASUSaku. Therefore, I updated. Don't hate me. I think this chapter's a little longer.**

**I do have to say that the mood is considerably lighter. That may be a bit odd, and I apologize for that.**

**Leave reviews, please And, if you could, ignore those little boxes that appear throughout the story. They just mean I've started writing on a new page. Hell, I don't even know if you can see them.. **

**Questions, comments, and/or concerns, leave it in a review, I'll respond. ;D**

**-Ika**


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